A hideous monster from beyond the grave! A small California mountain community is terrorized by a murderous monster that is stalking the townspeople and savagely murdering them. The undead thing is believed to be the incar... more &raquonation of an infamous Spanish Conquistador who was killed in the mountain during an Indian raid. Filmed in scenic Big Bear, California, this drive-in thriller is the first film effort of '50s cult filmmaker Richard Cunha and one of the last films of monster make-up artist Jack Pierce (Frankenstein, The Mummy).&laquo less

Movie Reviews

HARMLESS 50'S SCI-FI OPUS...

Mark Norvell | HOUSTON | 01/04/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I sought this disc out to see if it was as bad as everything I'd read about it. It's bad but not THAT bad. I saw no reason to rip it to shreds as one reviewer so painstakingly did. Richard E.Cunha made some bad horror films but this isn't the worst I've seen. It sports fairly decent location shooting for one thing and some of the most unintentionally funny dialogue and situations you could want in a low budget "monster" movie. The "Giant" of the title isn't really a monster but a revived Spanish Conquistador who's just really big, really dirty and mad as hell. Held responsible for murders and other assorted mayhem that occured BEFORE he was revived (as the above mentioned reviewer correctly noted), he commences his rampage by stomping around with an axe. There's an elderly archaeologist, his chirpy daughter, a jerk sheriff and the hero---a local guy who keeps getting blamed for everything by the sheriff. The story takes place in a mountain community where everyone is upset by these brutal murders---yet one young woman is left ALONE by her brother in their remote cabin and meets the "Giant" when she goes to the well for water. Then the dippy heroine is left alone at a campsite I don't know how many times while the men go off in the mountains. Yep, the "Giant"s lurking around in the bushes. He also throws rocks at people. So you see, this is a goofy, goofy film. It's dumb and silly but I liked it because it's really watchable. It's a pristine example of 50's b&w drive-in fare well preserved on disc by Wade Williams and Image in a crisp, clean print. Rather enjoyable if it's not taken so seriously."

50's HORROR CLASSIC!!

Kevin P. Coon | Twin Falls, Idaho USA | 04/02/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have always been very fond of this film. A giant Spanish Conquistador comes back to life and goes on a rampage in this Richard Cunha sci-fi gem. I love everyone in the cast especially Morris Ankrum and the always lovely Sally Forest. The small town setting adds a wonderful charm to this picture. 5 stars all the way!!!"

"It's cold dead stare is watching...YOU"

Brian C. Lawton | Brooklyn, New York United States | 03/23/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"So says the coming attraction trailer on this chiller theatre opus
Terror strikes a small mid-west community in the form of a spanish
7-ft tall conquistdator reawakened from a suspended animated sleep by a freak lightning bolt. This low budget 1958 film is more memorable for sporting the score
of the great Albert Glasser than anything. This image dvd is great
for this type Saturday matinee stuff. The picture is the clearest
print that I've seen of this film in quite sometime of course that
special feature trailer which makes it complete."

A True Monster Classic!

Justin Thompson | Memphis,TN | 11/29/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I really love this film because it came from monsterdom's greatest era, the 50's and because of the title character, played by Buddy Baer. He also played the giant in Abbott and Costello's Jack and the Beanstalk. Any film made in this era, either sci-fi or horror can only be deservedly called a classic. Giant from the Unkown is no exception. Thank you Englewood video for releasing all these horror classics on video and allowing this monster freak to enjoy some of these lost classics I have been dying to see. Giant from the Unknown should be scen by all monster boomers because it will bring back all those matinee memories of monsters!"

A mediocre but interesting low-budget thriller.

Justin Thompson | 06/12/1999

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Considering the ultra-low budget of this film, it is not as bad as one might expect. Buddy Baer does a good job in the title role, as a huge Spanish conquistador from the 15th century who is revived by a lightning strike after 500 years in suspended animation and proceeds to terrorize a rural area in northern California. He had a reputation as a mean SOB to begin with, and he continues to live up to it. Moral: People don't change."